Forbidden Planet
by Tigressa101
Summary: There's a reason why no one ventures to the outer Perseus Arm. A team of human explorers learn the hard way that the planet they stumble upon was not meant to be found.
1. Part 1

They had traveled for a few hours by hyperspace on a call about a planet just discovered. It was their job to survey the newly found worlds and report details about them to the Rodina-Earth Department of Space management that mapped trade, routes, and other items regarding the starry frontier. They were some of the lucky members; they got to reconnoiter new worlds for great pay all in the name of innovation.

Apparently, this particular planet appeared on the scopes out of nowhere in a system that once was already searched. An unusual signal kept popping up from it so it was their chance to scout it first.

"There she is, ladies and gentlemen!" Nova smirked.

Her main crew of four gathered with her at the large bay windows to glance towards the planet now sitting perfectly in view. They all studied what they were seeing before her second in command, Jotham, spoke, "I-It's magnificent yet there are no lights? Is this one of those rare primal earths that we've read on?"

The Captain then checked on the computer's scan to see what details it could find when something caught her eye. "Strange, Sinner reports that it cannot detect any life on it."

"See, Zara, I told you there still exists underdeveloped worlds. Here's your proof!" Cleo snarled, ignoring Nova's comment.

The bipedal black Labrador shrugged, "Never said I was always right, you know."

"Well you're a genetically engineered mutt. Common sense and vast thinking don't apply to you," Mazak scowled.

The human male immediately took a stance when Zara nearly leaped at him. The dog bared her teeth, "Say that directly to my face, you motherfu-"

"Enough!" All the humans bowed their heads at their leader but Zara only snorted. "We are a team, my friends and although we have our differences, we should not let them get in the way of our mission. This means, Mazak, no insults or debauchery allowed. Is that clear?"

She saw his teeth grind a bit before he replied, "Yes, Captain."

"We will split into two groups to explore the new planet. Keep communications open and if anything happens, contact our world and they will send reinforcements as quick as they can. Cleo, Zara, and Mazak: you will be together for the time being so you can learn to work concurrently. I will take Jotham with me then…if that's not a problem?"

Everyone remained silent but nodded to her whim. Shortly after, everyone split off to get ready.

The words of Mazak pained Zara more than she would admit. Sure she was an experiment gone right with a few anger issues and her signature bite, but that wasn't all she was. Or at least she hoped that wasn't what the others thought of her. She was made to be the "butler" of Jotham when he was a little kid. That was her sole purpose until he grew older and then she became his partner. Thank god for an extended lifespan of thirty years. It wasn't her fault the scientists didn't give her the intelligence of a human adult instead of a teenager's mindset. To be fair though, they thought she would cope better with Jotham that way and she did. At least her master appreciated her as she was and not the "token minority" everyone else from the REDS came to think since she was one of very few talking animals to join their ranks.

Zara muttered to herself as she equipped a bag full of weapons. In some sense, she could be compared to being trigger-happy as well as the overly prepared type. After all, it was an alien planet they were about to visit but unlike most worlds and natives they encountered, deep down she had the gut feeling something was…wrong. She always felt like this before exploring another inhabited system but this time it seemed more in depth. It was probably just her instincts registering unusual appearance of the planet. She really needed to stop doubting.

"You alright?" A voice spoke.

The canine peered up and wagged her tail at the sight of her human who crouched to pet her. Jotham was always there for her even when she didn't want his company. He was a good human, better than most she had seen in her short current lifetime. Fun character, great with kids and dogs alike; she felt sometimes she didn't deserve him.

"I've been better, to be honest. Why does Mazak have to start shit? Like I'm sorry I wasn't born human like him. Can't he respect that?" Zara growled.

Jotham rose up and grabbed a pack to begin filling it with his items. "You just have to see past his personality. He was raised by parents who thought everyone, especially modified animals, to be below him. He did stray far from his family's corrupt traditions and decided to become a REDS voyager, to see other worlds and such despite his somewhat racist views. You at least have to give him credit for that."

A deadpanned expression was all he received before she said, "Oh yeah, a bunch of redeeming qualities right there."

"Just give him a few more chances. I've talked to him and he's quite a nice guy underneath. Granted, it did take a while for him to open up to me but still, could you please try and get along? Just for this mission?"

"No-"

Jotham smirked, "I'll pay you 200 credits and I'll get you a new starship, specifically the H500 X-Ram."

"Fine."

"Good girl," the human hummed as he continued to store necessities into his bag.

In another part of the ship, Cleo and Nova packed the essentials in their chambers. It wasn't until Cleo broke the silence with a sudden rant did Nova pay full attention to her.

"You know how Mazak is! I don't think I can be partnered with him, and Zara…well…I won't be able to stop her if she decides to pick a fight! I'm just…not like you. I can't run a team much less with only two people. I don't know how you do it, Nova, but I…"

Cleo felt her wife place a kiss on her forehead with Nova giving her a soft smile. "You think I acquired how to lead a team within a few months' worth of time? You just have to find the tone that works for you and go from there. Promise me, dear, that you'll hang on and not act like me? You are you and I want you to lead like you do. Okay?"

Cleo returned the smile and embraced her. "I promise."

* * *

Entering the planet's atmosphere was a bumpy ride to say the least but that was not the concern the crew faced. When they reached a suitable flying level, everyone's eyes widened at what they saw.

"Everything's metal?" Zara murmured in shock.

Jotham blinked, "I've never heard of a planet made entirely of metal. Was this world built by someone or something? It seems entirely unnatural."

Both Mazak and Cleo shared a few glances as Nova interrupted. "For a planet so technologically advanced, it looks abandoned. Who would leave this place to die? Sinner, prepare landing sequence."

The computer system gave an acknowledging ring, activating the landing gear of the ship and slowing the vessel to its designated altitude. Once it began to hover, the pedes of the craft hit the open metallic field among dull skyscrapers and finally halted. Steaming from the engines hissed loudly in the silent remains of what they assumed was once a city.

When they exited the spacecraft adorned with specialized suits, they stared in awe at their surroundings. Some of the buildings appeared to be missing chunks while others were piles of scrap metal on the ground. The surface itself was made of the same materials with different bridges and platforms overlapping above them. Their ship seemed like the magnitude of a good sized bus compared to the city and it was one of the larger aircrafts of the REDS reaching just over a half mile long.

Cleo gulped, "It looks like some sort of battle went on here. Did they wipe themselves out?"

Nova eyed the area with concern before activating her communications system, "This is Captain Nova Pardo reporting to REDS Tower 8127, over."

" _REDS Tower 8127 Mission Control hears you. What's your status on the planet in Quadrant 58-92B?"_

"This planet is made completely of a metallic type that doesn't look like any we know of and appears to be deserted. No signs of life so far with-"

The sound of creaking metal from a distance made everyone freeze. The way it whined reminded Nova of when ships were being moved manually and the titanium groaned from the jerked movements of a crane transporting it.

" _Captain Nova Pardo? Please respond, Captain."_

The female hesitated to obey, "I…um…as I was saying, there are no signs of life as far as we know. Apologizes for the pause but we thought we heard movement. Anyway, atmosphere does not hold oxygen so we are forced to wear our suits. The planet also seems to have mechanical moons, two to be exact. None of them have any artificial lights either. There is nothing else to report at the moment."

" _Alright, Captain, we have recorded your report. Contact us again when you status updates. Mission Control out."_ With that the line went dead. Nova subtly put her hands to her side but didn't stop from staring in the direction of the metal screech.

"Cleo, your team move north and don't leave each other's sides no matter what. Jotham and I will go east and when we find that we are all close to the tallest skyscraper after searching, we meet up near it. Is that understood?"

Her wife gave a fearful nod before signaling her team to move. They started to separate when Cleo instantly called, "What about the engineers and the other crew members?"

Nova sighed, "I've ordered them to keep the ship locked until we return. They'll be safe, trust me."

The slightly smaller female gulped but continued on her instructed path with Mazak and Zara close behind.

* * *

The Labrador exhaled heavily in her helmet. Her instincts were going nuts with anticipation and fear. Her senses kept pointing her in a different route than the one assigned but they also kept changing. It was as if her impulses were tracking something that was moving like her kind did when they sought prey. She had heard Nova mention back on the ship the planet had no evident life but then why did it feel like something was watching them?

Then her ears twitched. Immediately she ran in front of Cleo and Mazak, holding a gloved paw finger to her helmet. When they stopped, she made sure not to make a noise as well…only to hear faint irregular footsteps somewhere behind her. They were all facing the same general direction and neither of them was proceeding.

"What now? What is it?" Mazak impatiently scowled.

Zara made a strained "shhh" uproar in return, still peering around cautiously. The mysterious striding had ceased; whatever it was heard Mazak and now it knew they were among it.

The dog gave a frown and whispered, "I heard movement until you opened your damn mouth loud enough for the damn city to hear if there is something here!"

The human male scoffed, "I didn't know, I'm sorry."

"What did you hear?" Cleo interrupted.

"There was something walking behind us. You have not heard it because we canines have superb audible range. Before you suggest it might be Nova and Jotham, it's not. The foot pattern seemed more spread out but with the same amount of seconds it takes us to walk, sounding definitely larger than any of us. It also was moving a greater distance in a short time span than we have…."

Zara abruptly froze, nose and ears jerking madly. Both humans could see her eyes dilate before she rapidly sprinted away towards the right of their position on all fours. She must have identified their culprit like a wolf on a deer.

Mazak held a worried expression, "That's not good."

They chased after her but she proved too fast, especially since she could operate both as a biped and a quadruped. After diving through what Cleo thought may have been alleyways or streets, she eventually lost their colleague. Then she realized another problem, she had left behind Mazak.

"Zara!? Mazak!?"

The silence of the area didn't help. Not knowing what to do, she first tried to locate the tower Nova wanted her to meet at but found the surrounding buildings obstructing her view. She then activated her communications line, holding back tears as she frantically peered around her.

She whimpered, "Please pick up! Please, Nova!"

" _Cleo?"_

"Nova! My team's gone! I-I don't know where Mazak is; I think I outran him trying to catch Z-Zara who just fled out of instinct! I lost my teammates!"

" _Alright, calm down. We'll find them, don't worry. Where are you?"_

"I-I can't see the tower so it's probably a large cluster of tall buildings! Please, hurry!"

" _I think I can track you. Stay calm, we're on…way…"_

A few puffs of static and the line went dead. Cleo sobbed as she hit the side of her helmet, "No, no, no, no!" She screamed slightly when it came back on with a whine but she didn't smile in relief.

"Hello?"

Listening closely, a pained moan and edgy breathing filtered through. It sounded like someone was dying until she perceived a whispering mechanical voice which made her put a hand over the location on her helmet where her mouth was.

"… _hhhhnnnnnnn…pre…ten…der…vvvvvvvvhhhhhhhh…kill…gggghhhhhvvvvvvvvv…"_

Her communication cut short again but then another noise became apparent. She heard ghastly breathing and a clatter behind her like someone was scrambling on all fours. Whipping around, she grabbed her holstered gun. Hopefully, this was Zara just messing with her but then again, the canine was not known for playing these types of tricks unless you pissed her off.

"Cleo?"

Mazak's voice was a slight relief but when it echoed, it sounded to the left of her when she heard more unusual movement to her right. Gulping down tears, she cried out, "Mazak! Help me!"

"Cleo!?"

" **Cleee…oooo."**

She roughly turned around when the harsh whisper seemed as if it was right next to her ear only to see something huge demonically charge out at her from the shadows. Cleo screamed.

* * *

As soon as Nova got the broken transmission from her wife, she didn't hesitate to start running back towards the ship. Jotham ran beside her.

"Cleo's freaking out and lost her team. Splitting up worked before but I don't understand what went wrong this time around."

Her associate sighed, "I bet Zara didn't take to being teamed up with Mazak without me very well. Such a strong-headed dog, that one is. I swear I'm gonna-WHOA!"

Both of them slid to a halt when they reached the ship. Nova's face twisted in horror as she tried to take in what she saw. Her ship still remained where she left it but it tilted to the right a little while its left side bay doors were ripped apart with human blood staining the visible interior, some of it dripping out of the opening.

"What the hell did all this?" Jotham motioned to the scene with fear, staring at the blood like he was hypnotized by it.

Nova immediately activated her comm. line again, "T-this is Captain Nova Pardo reporting to REDS Tower 8127, over!"

" _REDS Tower 8127 Mission Control hears you. What's your new status on the planet in Quadrant 58-92B?"_

"Mission Control, I need assistance quickly! There's something vicious here on this planet! My ship has been breached and I think my crew is dead! We need back up now! I repeat, there is hostile life on this planet and I think we are trapped here!"

" _Captain Nova, we will send help right away. Gather any survivors and stay together until other starships arrive. They should be there within an hour. Godspeed."_

As the line buzzed out, both Jotham and Nova turned towards a scream heard in the distance. Instant panic overtook the Captain when she realized who it was. "Oh my god, Cleo!"

* * *

A growl and large footsteps emitted behind him but he didn't dare look back, sprinting down any available openings including ones that were tight fits for him. Mazak panted madly as he heard a scream he assumed was Cleo's. As much as he wanted to look for her, his own life was literally on the line at the moment. He had to secure himself by finding the others before going after his teammate. Whatever was after them clearly couldn't be taken on alone.

He finally had the gull to peer behind him but saw nothing chasing him now. But as he faced the direction he was running, he hit something that nearly knocked the wind out of him. Coughing, he feared what he would see if he dared to open his eyes until…

"Ow…cha! I think you broke cartilage in my nose, jackass!"

Mazak immediately opened his eyes and saw Zara cracking her nose back into place. "Zara! Thank god you're still alive!"

The dog paused, "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Where the hell did you go!? Something's trying to kill us now that we've been separated!" The human snarled.

"Oh yeah, about that…I suggest we get out of here quickly," she remarked in a rather stale tone Mazak didn't like.

He frowned, "Wha-what do you…"

A clang on the metal ground shook them as darkness engulfed them. A predatory rumble followed and both Mazak and Zara simultaneously glared up at it before the canine muttered, "I…may have let my instincts take control…and I found what I heard before…and it may have followed me…RUN!"

Zara darted away with the human in tow as the large monster bellowed, slamming into walls as it tried to navigate the pathways in chase. Mazak shouted as he heard the familiar sound of teeth snapping shut repeatedly. He followed the dog through an opening in the side of a building by sliding on his back where as his companion simply converted to quadrupedal mode.

He nearly forced a smile when he saw the outline of the beast's arm attempt to reach them, claws eventually sliding back and leaving marks in frustration. When the hand disappeared, he received an angered wail and heavy treads fading. When Mazak began to give a relieved but fearful laugh, the dog simply rolled her eyes as she leaned against a column in defeat.

"I should've listened to my instincts on the ship. I should have been able to sense it as a living creature but it didn't have that aroma. It was just there…I…"

Mazak froze, "It wasn't living?"

Zara huffed and rubbed her wrists, "It didn't have a scent that most creatures have when they're alive. It probably is but I don't know what the hell it is or what it's comprised of! That damn thing blended with the building like it had natural camouflage. Three of them, in fact!"

"There's three!?"

"Or more. Those motherfu….they just stood there, tall and proud and covered but as soon as they saw me, I swear they just bolted off the structures like agitated spiders, man! It's like they were waiting on us, on me!"

As Mazak brought himself to sit up, a deep saddened expression dominated his facial features. "Zara, I don't think we're getting out of this alive."

* * *

 **AN: Guess where they are. What happened, you ask? Oh, I won't say.**


	2. Part 2

Jotham began to panic as he thought about Zara. Cleo and Mazak were his teammates yes, but Zara was his best friend and lifelong sister. He would rather be a bit selfish and save her than the others, only afterwards would he help rescue his fellow humans.

Another scream, this time in a slightly lower pitch, rang out followed by a bark. There was Zara and Mazak.

"Zara!"

The barking faded in the opposite direction. Whatever was here certainly knew how to keep its prey from finding its companions. He ran alongside Nova who practically had tears running down her face. He couldn't leave her by herself with what was out there as much as he thought he needed to. That would be the equivalent to assisted murder, abandoning somebody to die.

"This can't be real! This can't be real!" The Captain muttered nearly unintelligibly.

Her second-in-command didn't blame her. He too was beginning to have a breakdown but unlike Nova's, his could get a little more rash. Hopefully, Nova would not be in the path of his thoughtlessness.

* * *

Growling at the hand trying to grab them, Zara quickly pulled out a cannon gun and fired at it. A plume of smoke emitted from the explosion and when it vanished, the large hand was gone. Everything grew dead silent. Her ears twitched as Mazak stood by her.

"Did we win?"

Jaws crashed through the wall beside them, chomping down on the ground where they once stood. Both of them stared in horror as robotic golden eyes peered back with bloodlust, a look Zara was all too familiar with. So they were robots?!

The helm of the monster slid backwards, dragging its supposed teeth through the metal surface before roaring and trying to push through the remainder of the wall. As the two smaller beings began to sprint in the opposite direction, Mazak's eyes widened when both hands appeared to aide its struggle. The hand they shot at wasn't even damaged.

"Run, Two Legs, run!" The Labrador scowled.

"I'm fucking trying, you piece of-"

The sound of metal breaking and another bellow shook the interior.

Mazak cried out, "Whatever you do, don't look back!"

"Okay!"

As loud stomping grew faster paced behind them, both the canine and the human denied their own words. They ended up glancing back in unison against their better judgement and screamed when they saw the beast crawling towards them rather unsettlingly. The light of the golden eyes were getting brighter across their bodies, a sign the monster was a lot quicker than they had anticipated.

When the rounded a corner, another metallic being was there waiting maliciously with dark and light blue optics eyeing them down hungrily. Claws scraped against the ground trying to swipe at them. They had set a trap!

Zara yelped in pain when a talon ran across her chest before she could back away, blood instantly splattering the floor. She felt automatically deprived of oxygen despite her helmet was not attached to her suit and converted the planet's gases into oxygen directly by vents. Apparently, the wound was deep enough to have punctured her lung. She didn't even acknowledge Mazak anymore as he ran to her side.

"No, no, no! Come on, Zara! I won't leave you! You better not leave me because I'm going to kick your ass for all eternity as a ghost if you do!"

The human tried to help the dog stand but immediately froze in fear and the yellow eyed monster slammed into the wall in an attempt to turn the same corner. Like its friend who tried to dig to get to them via a crevice, the scuttling robot scratched its way towards them with its jaws open wide.

Mazak held onto the Labrador, knowing there was nowhere to go. She then revealed in her palm a cluster grenade powerful enough to level an entire building and he did nothing but nod. Zara leaned her head against the human's chest as the monster drew to nearly twenty feet away, pressing the button that left mere seconds before detonation.

She finally muttered with a smile, "Alright boys…"

The robot roared as it approached them and the other one began to break through the crevice behind their exhausted forms.

"…see you bitches in hell."

Its teeth less than a foot away, the whine of the grenade and a blinding flash covered them all.

* * *

The ground shook, not strong enough to wipe them off their feet but it did feel somewhat abnormal. The reverberation continued as a building not far away began to crumble and a shock wave of fire blasted through the windows. It leaned towards the west, part of its tower colliding with the side of another structure causing pieces of the other to break away as well.

"NO! Z-ZARA!" The male shrieked, holding his face in his hands at the sight. He had recognized the type of explosion that was: a cluster grenade and only one person he knew loved to use them.

Jotham looked absolutely devastated while Nova reeled back in fright when she realized that was the direction of where they had heard Zara and Mazak. If they were a part of that blast, then…

"Nova!"

The Captain immediately turned towards the call of her name. Cleo! She was still alive! Without a second thought, she raced towards the sound. Jotham grieved as he followed, still torn about the loss of his dear companion. They didn't know how long they had searched for Cleo prior, but something snapped inside Jotham this time.

"You know what? Fuck Cleo!"

Both he and Nova slid to a halt for two different reasons.

The woman gave Jotham a harsh look, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me! FUCK…CLEO! This entire time I've been following you around because I knew we shouldn't split up or else we would have been picked off faster! But all you've cared about is Cleo! Mazak and Zara are dead because you only wanted to save your wife and not a majority of our crew!" Jotham yelled.

"That's not true!"

"Then why the fuck did you decided to go in the opposite direction when you heard them scream?! Face it, you don't give two shits about whether we live or die, only that Cleo and you get to live happily ever after! I understand about rescuing those you love but 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few'! Who taught me that, Nova?! Huh?! Who taught me all those fucking morals matter when in reality, she was just a hypocrite to her own words?!"

Nova grew red in the face before snarling, "How fucking dare you talk to your superior officer that way! Besides, a spoiled brat like you would have eaten your own words if Zara was in trouble and alone while we were dying! They're dead now and there's nothing we can do. I am the Captain and I say we move out and find our remaining crew member! Is that understood, Jotham?"

Her second-in-command clenched his teeth before he began to see red. If he couldn't have Zara, she couldn't have Cleo. Picking a stray metal bar from the nearest wreckage, Jotham charged at Nova and struck her in the back of her helmet. When she fell, he quickly stood over her and began to bash her helmet multiple times. Over and over the bar came down; each hit provided more blood until neither her helmet nor the back of her freshly opened head looked recognizable.

He blinked several times before what he had down sank in. He had murdered her. Stumbling back, he threw the bar across the pathway and dropped to his knees. Tears began to run down his cheeks as his veracity came crashing down. He let Zara down, he had killed his commanding officer, and he had sentenced Cleo and Mazak to death.

" _Captain Nova Pardo, this is_ _REDS Tower 8127 Mission Control. What's your new status on the planet in Quadrant 58-92B?"_

Her comm. link went off surprising him slightly.

" _Captain Nova, do you copy? Captain Nova?"_

Low growls made him shoot up, ignoring the communication. The shadows moved before soft cyan blue mechanical eyes appeared. He backed away as the larger being slowly stalked towards him, revealing its chassis which groaned upon the movements. This robot looked feminine but no less ferocious. The female monster suddenly bellowed, sprinting towards him. Not knowing what else to do, he gave chase and left behind the body of Nova who was crushed under foot like disregarded trash.

* * *

" _go…hhhhhhhh…away…hhhhhhnnnnnn…pre…ten…der…nnnnnvvvvvvhhhh…kill…hhhvvvv"_

Whispers through the hijacked radio haunted her. She heard their voices call her name with a venomous tone. Since she had disabled her comm. link to prevent distractions, they had targeted the next best thing on her person.

" _hhhhhhhhggggggg…I…nnnnnnhhhhh…see…vvvvvvvvnnnnnn…you…hhhhhhhhhvvvvvvvv…"_

Cleo had been stuck among what she assumed was a ventilation system for an unknown amount of time. She had narrowly escaped the monster by ducking under its grasp and running beneath it before she found her way here. If she was lucky, Nova would be coming to help her after she called for her.

Unfortunately, the robotic beast that had chased her heard that call and now stalked her only two exits. Speaking of which, she hunkered down and remained silent as footsteps approached. The slow and metallic beat of them drew closer until a large silver foot came into view. Creaking mechanical joints made their annoying noises as the feet found their way through the hall once again for the umpteenth time.

When they faded, Cleo sighed silently. Was she even going to get out of this alive?

She jumped when her radio began to go haywire. The static blared loudly throughout the vent and hall. Whenever she tried to turn it down, it seemed like something began to override the controls and only make it more high-pitched. It was almost like whoever was gargling through it wanted her to be found.

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up, you stupid machine!" She cried.

With no other option, Cleo threw the device across the way only to watch it shatter on the wall into pieces. She exhaled but immediately sucked it up as the sound of violent moving echoed towards her. Closer it drew at an alarming rate until the same silver pedes she had seen prior halted in front of her. A deep guttural breath almost organic-like hissed through the air.

She knew it saw her radio and she also knew it knew she was close. Chances of survival were dwindling to numbers nobody ever wanted to know last minute. The monster scurried around, the noise of sniffing being another very unsettling thing she had heard today. Abruptly, the beast crouched down and she its mouth and its noise right near her sensing for her. Plating that she could tell were the nostrils shifted like a rabbit's, scouting the crevice curiously. In dissatisfaction, the larger being snorted and sent steam straight into her.

Cleo did her best not to flinch but the vapor made her suit uncomfortable and rather itchy. The resistance to scratch arm or her torso was antagonizing to bear. She held her ground as another growl emitted from above while talons were placed her close to her hiding spot.

Something unctuous and clear splashed on top of her glove. Upon observing the slime, she grew fearful when it reminded her of saliva. She peered up carefully to see the liquid oozing through the cracks of the metal platform covering her as well as parts of the outline of what she could make out was the monster itself…and it was lingering nearly on top of her position.

In a heartbeat, the metal sheet that protected her was unhinged and thrown, revealing blood red optics and rancorous teeth. Cleo screeched as she tried to scoot farther into the vent, twisting so she was facing away from the monster. One of the claws shot straight through her leg making her cry out in pain.

Before she could grab ahold of anything to help her, the talon yanked her back into the view of the titan and she could only scream the deadly red eyes flew towards her.

* * *

Currently, he had outflanked the monster. But how long is lead lasted was unpredictably scary.

Jotham glanced at the now visible horizon as he made it near the outskirts of the ruined city. The sun was nearly gone. Soon it would be almost pure darkness and he would no longer have any advantages. Since they were in fact robots, they could no doubt see in the dark better than any known animal back home.

A familiar sound began to pick up which stirred him from his thoughts. At first he thought his hearing was playing tricks but when he peered above at the dark blue sky, four large vessels bearing the REDS symbol sank into the atmosphere.

He started to laugh. Help had arrived and just in time, he might add. Nova did do something honorable at least today. Waving his arms around in glee, he tried to run to a more open area where the ships could land.

As they drew near the surface, the sudden sound of missiles made Jotham cancel his celebration. Dozens if not hundreds of projectiles erupted from the city, splitting off into clusters towards all four ships almost like they were sentient. When they clashed with the ships, the human saw his hope explode and perish before him.

REDS' shielding technology was top grade, able to withstand against practically all threats but as soon as these weapons hit, all four vessels' shields flickered sadistically while they lost parts and stabilizers at such a fast rate. What type of people and technology did this horrific planet have?

The lead craft took a nose dive, hitting the metal surface brutally before igniting into a blaze that he was sure left no survivors. The second and third ships crashed into one another dragging each other down to meet the same fate. The fourth ship, however, tried to flee but more missiles came and unlike its brethren, it shattered in the air. It sent shrapnel everywhere while the husk of the spacecraft tumbled against a building until it lied beside the others.

If there were any survivors, they would be dead before the dawn breaks the horizon.

Jotham sat in utter defeat, occasionally glancing back up to see if there were any other craft orbiting the planet. He saw none. As dusk was no more and the flames of the destroyed ships died to embers, he got up and began walking. Where to he didn't know nor cared at this point. Behind him, the city was still dark but he could hear a lot more movement throughout the ruins implying a majority of those monsters were sleeping during most of his former crew's time on the planet.

The human let out a brief shriek as the floor unexpectedly collapsed and sent him sliding down a pipe of some sort. Still screaming, he eventually was thrown from the drop and rolled to a painful end on his front.

"Motherfucker, man!" He coughed as he got in his hands and knees reeling in the pain of his abdomen.

A blue dot of liquid formed on his helmet prior to it leaving a glossy streak on the way down. Curious, Jotham dipped his fingers into the small puddle it formed and examined it. Instantly, he peered up only for his eyes to grow wide with astonishment. The same blue glow appeared everyone on…eggs?

All around there were seeds; on the ceiling, on the floor, and even strapped to the wall by some kind of goo. And each egg had the tiny…well almost as big as him…forms slightly observable within. He quickly got to his feet and made his way to the nearest orb to see them closer, placing a hand upon the exterior but removing it immediately to see the blue slime coat his palm. They were, in fact, small versions of the robots he encountered much to his horror. Then he grew confused as he watched the one he was beside twitch and move like a baby in a womb.

Robots that could breed? This was insane but a magnificent discovery…if only he could have a chance to tell about it.

The eggs abruptly rattled at different times and he grew weary if they would find him a meal or just think of him as a toy to tear apart. Fortunately, the movement ceased. It was only the equivalent of a kick.

He breathed relief as he leaned against one of the eggs but his break was short lived. Multiple colored eyes opened in front of him from the shadows, the yellow ones being the largest and most intimidating. Jotham peered around but saw more optics staring at his every move in every direction. He was surrounded.

A growl emitted from beside the large yellow eyed monster, one he recognized. The cyan blue optic feminine one navigated around the others until it was dead front and center to him. He gulped when it reared, bellowing once again at him.

If there was a god…well, it was too late to pray now. At least he'll be with Zara in the end. Instead of running, Jotham just closed his eyes as he caught one last glimpse at the blue optics as they lunged for him.

* * *

" _Captain Nova, please copy! The ships we sent to you aren't responding! What has happened? Captain?"_

A metal servo picked up the remains of the helmet of the splattered human, listening to the call intensely. It growled at the increasingly vexing babbling the mechanism was spouting.

" _Do you copy? Captain Nova, do you copy!? Captain No-"_

Crushing the device in its palm, raised red optics blinked forward and a shadowed fanged smile crept upon its dark features.

* * *

 **AN: I never seem to give happy endings, do I? Nah, they're less fun.**


End file.
